Ventriloquist&#39;s doll



Nov. 27, 1956 M. ENISON 2,771,708

VENTRILOQUISTS DOLL Filed 001.. 28, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.MORTON ENISON Nov. 27, 1956 M. ENISON 2,771,708

" VENTRILOQUISTS DOLL Filed Oct. 28, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 27, 1956M. ENISON VENTRILOQUIST'S DOLL 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 28, 1953JNVENTOR. -MORTON Emsox A771? NE) United States Patent VENTRILOQUISTSDOLL Morton Enison, New York, N. Y.

Application October 28, 1953, Serial No. 388,814

6 Claims. (Cl. 46154) This invention is a ventriloquists doll having animproved set of controls for imparting lifelike movements thereto.

Heretofore, it has not always been possible to assure that desirablynatural movements will be produced during the use of a ventriloquistsdoll, and this has been due to the fact that while much attention hasbeen paid to the matter of mouth movements, developments in thearticulation of the arms and legs, and readily manipulable controldevices therefor, have not kept pace.

One important object of the invention, in view of the above, is to formand locate a set of control devices for the limbs in such a way as toallow the users hand, inserted in the open back of the dolls body, toeffect particular arm and leg movements with greater ease, and withgreater faithfulness and resemblance to real life movements, than hasheretofore been the case.

In carrying out another important aim, it is proposed to provide a headmounting that will allow selective positioning of the head throughrotation of the same, tilting in any direction, and up-and-down motions,with the mouthpiece control means remaining fully operable in eachposition to which the head is adjusted.

Another object is to allow locking of the knee joint for causing thedoll to stand erect instead of being disposed in its more usual sittingposition.

A further aim of the invention is to associate with the knee joint lockmeans a main leg lock that will aid in retention of the doll in an erectposition.

Still another purpose is to form the several limbs and control devicesfrom inexpensive, readily bent wire so shaped as to permit the arms andlegs to be integrally formed with concealed extensions used as thecontrol handles.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a doll formed according to theinvention, a portion of the hollow body being broken away to show thecontrol devices.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal, transverse sectional view through the upperportion of the body, taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper end of the bodyfrom which the head has been removed.

Fig. 4 is a vertical, longitudinal sectional view of the doll, lookingin the direction of the front from the back thereof.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view showing the head mounting, takensubstantially on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a front perspective view of the head assembly per se.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary rear perspective view of the head assembly.

2,771,?8 V Patented Nov. 27, 1958 Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view online 8-8 of Fig. 4 illustrating the leg lock, the full lines showing theunlocked position and the dotted lines showing the locked position.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the leg control device per se.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of one of the arm assemblies per se.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the doll as it appears when clothed andready for use.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view substantially on the samecutting plane as Figure 2, showing a modified arm control assembly.

Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 13-13 of Fig.12. v

Fig. 14 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 14-14 of Fig.13.

The reference numeral 14 has been applied to a head of hollow formation,having a depending, hollow neck formed integrally therewith. Amouthpiece 16, mounted for up and down swinging movement in a verticallyelongated mouthpiece opening 18, is pivotally supported on a horizontalpivot pin 20 (Fig. 4), the ends of which are engaged in transverselyaligned openings of the head 14.

The dolls body 22 is preferably of elliptical section (Fig. 2), and isalmost fully open at its back. The body 22 has a flat, closed lower endwall, and is constant in cross-sectional area from the lower end wall toa location adjacent its upper end. At its upper end, the body 22 has anupper end wall formed with a depressed head shelf 24 located midwaybetween the opposite sides of the body.

A head control member 25 is formed from a single length of wire materialthe upper end 26 of which is engaged in an opening formed in the rear ofthe side wall of the neck (Fig. 2), and bent inwardly to secure the samein the neck. The portion 28 of the control member, located adjacent theupper end 26, is then extended through almost the entire circumferenceof the neck to rigidly secure the head to the control member. Adjacentthe opening of the neck that receives upper end 26, the length of wirematerial used in forming the head control member is extended into theneck through a second small neck opening and is extended radially andinwardly of the neck to the center thereof. At this location, the lengthof wire material is bent downwardly, and extends vertically through atriangular, large aperture 30 of the head shelf 24, into the body 22.

In communication with aperture 30 is a slot 32 extending toward the rearedge of the head shelf. The slot 32 is adapted to receive the verticallyextending portion of the head control member, and said member can thusbe selectively positioned, within or outside the slot, as desired.

Immediately after being extended downwardly through the aperture 30, thehead control member is formed with a generally triangular loop 34smaller than the triangular aperture.

Normally, loop 34 underlies the head shelf in contact therewith, thelower end of the neck meanwhile engaging against the upper surface ofthe head shelf. This permits the head to remain erect under normalconditions while still being capable of being turned from side to side.If, however, one desires to impart an up and down movement to the head,or desires to tilt the head forwardly, rearwardly, or to one side or theother, the head control member is moved forwardly out of its normalposition within the slot 32, thereby disposing the loop 34 below thelarge aperture 30. A certain freedom of movement not previously possibleis now obtained, due to the fact that the major part of loop 34 is notnow engaged against the underside of the head shelf. Tilting of thehead, and the other movements mentioned, thereby becomes possible.

By rotating the head through 180 degrees with the head control memberout of the slot, the triangular loop can be aligned with the largertriangular aperture 30 to permit complete removal of the head. Thisallows repairs on the head to be made conveniently, and even allowssubstitution of a completely different head without disturbing theremaining portion of the doll. Various heads and garments, selectivelycombined upon the same body and set of control devices, increasemeasurably the versatility of the doll and allow employment of a numberof different characters by the ventriloquist without incurrence of thesubstantial expense that would ordinarily be involved.

Within the center area of the body 22,. the vertically extending lengthof wire material used in forming the head control member has its lowerend portion bent into the shape of a vertically elongated, generallyrectangular, finger-receiving loop or eye 36 provided with an upwardlyturned lower bight portion 38 that increases the bearing surface of thefinger during manipulation of the head control member. The eye 36 alsohas a horizontally extending upper bight portion the terminal of whichis bent about the intermediate part of the head control member tocomplete the formation of said member shown at 40.

A mouthpiece operating device is. carried by the head control member andis movable. either independently of or in combination with the same.This includes a vertically swingable plate 42 one end of which isintegrally formed with a hinge sleeve through which extends the upperbight portion of the eye 36. The plate 42 is depressible by ones fingerfor effecting swinging of the mouthpiece to an open position, and toaccomplish this, there is connected to the plate the lower end of a link44, the upper end portion of which is projected upwardly throughaperture into the neck of the dolls head. There the upper end of thelink is connected to the mouthpiece, as best shown in Fig. 4, andcontrol of the mouthpiece thus becomes possible. The mouthpiece isnormally held in closed position by a spring, not shown, this being aconventional means of holding the mouthpiece closed and of shifting itto its closed position each time the plate 42 is momentarily depressed.and released during the simulation of the mouth movements of a talkingperson.

Of course, the operation of the mouthpiece control means is easilyaccomplished regardless. of the position of the head, due to the.mounting of said means directly upon the head control member 25.

Reference should. now be. had to Fig.. 2, wherein is shown the armsuspension of the doll. Extending from each side wall of the head shelfto the adjacent side of the dolls body is a horizontal hinge pin 46 ofwire material, the ends of which are bent laterally to provide aninexpensive connection of said pin to the body. Rotatable on each hingepin is a tapered. or flared series of closed convolutions 48, formed ina length of wire, these defining a hinge sleeve. Integral with thesmaller end of the series of convolutions is a downwardly extendingcontrol member the lower terminus of which is shaped into a loop-likehandle 50. The length of wire material, at the other end of theconvolutions, is bent outwardly so as to extend through an arm-receivingopening 52 of the body 22, the opening 52 being of substantial size soas to assure the desired freedom of movement of the ann during use ofthe doll.

Exteriorly of the body, the length of wire is bent downwardly to providean upper arm member 54. The upper arm member 54, at its lower end, has alaterally offset part bent into a return direction to provide ahorizontally disposed hinge 56 having horizontally spaced eye portionsreceiving the laterally extended upper end 58 of a forearm member 60. Asshown in Fig. 1, and also in Figs. 4 and 10, the upper end 58 of theforearm member is bent upon itself in a, direction to insure that itwill not become accidentally detached from the hinge to which it ispivotally connected. At its lower end, the forearm member is embedded ina molded hand 62.

By reason of this arrangement, each arm of the doll is connected to thebody in a manner simulating with a high degree of faithfulness thearticulation of a real arm to a human body. At its upper end, the dollsarm is hinged for swinging of the arm within a vertical plane toward andaway from the body, and at the elbow the arm is hinged again forswinging of the forearm within a vertical plane, relative to the upperarm.

The use of a flared series of convolutions. 48 imparts a desirablelooseness to the connection of the arm to the body, and permits rockingof the arm not only in a backto-forth and front-to-back direction, butalso in a sidewise direction.

Although the handles can be separately manipulated for the purpose ofmoving on arm independently of the other, it is also possible to movethe arms jointly, and. to this end, a bail 51 of U shape has outwardlybent, hooklike ends engageable over the handles 50. The bail extendsdownwardly within the body, and has a laterally ofiset bight portionagainst which a downward pressure may be exerted by ones finger to.effect joint swinging movement of the arms.

Means is incorporated in the arm control device for swinging the forearmrelative to the upper arm. This includes a cord 61 connected at one endto the hand 62 and threaded loosely, intermediate its ends, through theelbow hinge. The cord, after being threaded through the elbow hinge, isextended through the opening. 52 of the body, and is trained over thehinge pin 46. Thereafter, the cord is extended downwardly within thebody adjacent the arm control handle 50.

If desired, each of the two cords can be allowed to depend freely withinthe body, without being connected to one another or to their associatedarm control handles. Alternatively, and as shown in. Figs. 1 and 4, theends of the cords can be connected within the body to eyes formed uponopposite ends of an elongated, horizontally disposed control bar 63extending within the body in front of the head control member 25. Onecan therefore exert downward pressure upon the midleng-th. part of thecontrol bar to cause both forearm members to swing upwardly upon theelbow hinges, it being understood that the cords would be connected tothe hands 62 at such locations as to be adapted to pull upwardlythereupon for the purpose of imparting a corresponding upward swingingmotion to the forearm members. A pressure exerted against the backs ofthe arm control handles 50, in the. direction of the front wall of thebody, would of course be adapted to swing the upper arm portionsforwardly from the body about the axes of the hinge pins 46.

The leg mountings and their associated control devices will now bedescribed, and aswill be. noted from Fig. 1, each leg assembly includesan. upwardly extending, platelike bracket or bearing. member 64, mountedupon the lower end wall of the 'body 22. A pivot pin 66 has one endengaged in an opening of the bearing member 64, and its other endengaged in an opening in the adjacent side wall of the body 22. Looselyrotatable on the pivot pinis a hinge sleeve 68' defined by a series ofclosed convolution-s formed in a length of wire, and integral with oneend of the hinge sleeve is an upper leg member 70 projecting downwardlythrough an opening formed in the lower end wall of the body.

The length of wire used in forming the upper leg member, at that endthereof extended from-the opposite end of the hinge sleeve, is formedinto an upwardly projecting leg control handle 72 of loop-likeconfiguration, disposed below the arm control handle 50. This can beswung forwardly and rearwardly within the body to produce swingingmotion of the upper leg member 70.

Intermediate the handle 72 and the hinge sleeve, there is formed in thelength of wire a locking finger 74; The

locking finger 74, in the illustrated example-of the invention, isformed by folding the length of wire material upon itself, to providelongitudinally contacting portions cooperating to define the laterallyprojecting locking finger (Fig. 9).

Reference should now be had to Fig. 8, wherein the means for releasablylocking the leg control device against movement is shown. The bracket 64has a curved surface 76 eccentric to the arc traversed by the lockingfinger 74 during its swinging movement about the pivot axis defined bythe hinge pin 66. As a result, when the locking finger is in the fullline position thereof shown in Fig. 8, it is unlocked and the handle 72can be swung backwardly or forwardly to effect movements of the leg.When, however, the handle 72 is shifted forwardly to a substantialextent, the locking finger moves into contact with the surface 76. Thiscauses the finger to engage the surface 76 with a continuouslyincreasing amount of friction, during movement of the finger in thedirection of the arrows in Fig. 8. The length of wire material, itshould be noted, is of springable characteristics, to permit the fingerto resiliently yield in an upward direction.

Ultimately, the finger will move off the surface 76 into an angularrecess or locking notch 78, to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 8,thus to lock the upper leg member 70 against movement. At such time asit may be desired to unlock the upper leg member, one would merely graspthe handle 72 to rock the finger upwardly out of the notch 78, afterwhich the finger would be shifted in a return direction, back to itsfull line position shown in Fig. 8.

At its lower end, the leg member 70 is formed with a loop 80 extendingthrough an angular recess 82 formed in the upper end of a lower legmember 84. Member 84 is provided at its upper end with a transverseopening receiving the loop 88, thus to hinge member 84 to the member 70to provide an articulated knee joint. At its lower end, the member 84 isembedded with-in a molded shoe or boot 86.

Means is incorporated in the leg assembly to lock the same at the kneejoint, and to this end there is circumposed about the upper leg member atubular weight 88 having an axial bore in which the upper leg member isloosely engaged. The bore is formed at its lower end with a counterbore90 adapted for snug engagement of the reduced upper end of member 84therein. Normally the weight is disposed as shown in Fig. 1. However, itcan be shifted downwardly as in Figure 4 to overlap the knee joint, thusto lock the members 70 and 84 against relative swinging movement.

The tubular means 88 and lock means shown in Fig. 8 can be usedindependently of one another or in combination to rigidify the legassemblies relative to the body of the device, thereby to cause the dollto stand erect rather than be disposed in its more conventional sittingposition. The recesses 82 of the lower leg members will, of course,engage loops 80 to limit said members against forward swinging movementbeyond a position in which they are aligned with the upper leg members,thereby to provide a more realistic simulation of the leg movements of ahuman.

In Fig. 11, the doll is shown as it appears when fully clothed and readyfor use. All control devices will now, of course be concealed when thedoll is viewed from the front, though the back of the clothing will beleft open or with a slit to permit entry of ones hand.

In Figs. 12l4, there is shown a modified arm control assembly whichincorporates a locking action in said assembly whereby the forearm andupper arm are interlocked for joint movement, with the upper armswinging upwardly simultaneously with upward swinging movement of theforearm relative to the upper arm.

In this arrangement, there is provided a pivot pin 92 which may be usedin place of the pivot pin 46 hereinbefore described, in the event thereis insufficient clear 8 ance between said pin and the upper end wall ofthe body 22. The pin 92 has its outer end offset downwardly relative tothe inner end thereof, as shown in Fig. 13. The ends of the pin can beclinched or otherwise secured in the walls of the body in any suitablemanner, to insure that the pin will be fixedly positioned within thebody.

Rotatable on the pin is a tapered sleeve 84 formed of a series ofconvolutions provided in a length of wire material, said sleeve beingintegral at one end with an upper arm member 96, that extends througharm opening 52 of the body 22. The other end of the sleeve is integralwith a rearwardly extending open loop portion 98, that is normallydisposed in a substantially horizontal plane.

A second sleeve, designated by the reference numeral and formed from aseries of closed convolutions of equal diameter, is integral at one endwith a rearwardly extending lock member 102 terminating at its free endin a hook over which the loop portion 98 can be engaged in the mannershown in the drawing. At its other end the sleeve 100 is integral withan upwardly projecting extension 104 terminating at its upper, free endin an eye to which is connected a cord 106 analogous to cord 61, thecord 106 being extended through opening 52 of the body. A spring 108 ishooked at one end through the eye of the extension, and at its other endis connected to the front wall of the body.

By reason of this arrangement, the loopportion 98 can, at the option ofthe user, be engaged over the lock member 102, and as a result,depression of the bail 51 will cause both upper arms of the doll to beswung upwardly, with the forearms being simultaneously swung upwardlyrelative to the upper arms. This result is obtained by reason of thefact that depression of the bail will rotate sleeve 94, and will lowerloop portion 98. The loop portion will in turn swing the lock member 102downwardly, and this will rotate sleeve 100, swinging the extension 104rearwardly to exert pull on the cord, against the opposing action of thespring 108. Spring 108 serves to return the parts to proper positionagainst the body, and will insure that the upper arm will be heldagainst the body even if the body is caused to lean forwardly from thewaist. In some embodiments of the invention, the spring might beomitted, if desired.

The tapered, rockable sleeve 94 permits the loop portion 98 to bereadily engaged with or disengaged from the lock member, the loosemounting and rocking motion of the sleeve being. well adapted tofacilitate said engagement or disengagement of the loop portion.

It is important to note that the entire construction makes considerableuse of wires bent to shape to provide not only the legs and arms of thedoll, but also the control devices used in effecting movements of thelegs and arms. This simplifies the doll construction measurably andreduces the cost of manufacture to a considerable extent, as will bereadily appreciated. At the same time, the doll has a variety oflife-like movements of the head, arms and legs, which movements areeasily brought about by the user, after a basic amount of dexterity isacquired.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise construction herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patout is:

1. A ventriloquists doll comprising a body, arms and legs pivoted uponsaid body, said arms and legs all being formed from lengths of wirematerial having inner end portions disposed within the body and outerend portions projecting exteriorly of the body to define the limbsthereof, the inner end portions of the lengths of wire material beingshaped as control handles adapted to be engaged by the fingers of a handinserted within the body, and means for automatically eifecting jointmovement of the arms including a U-shaped bail connected at its ends tosaid handles constituting the inner ends of said arms and dependingwithin the body with its bight adapted for engagement by the finger of auser.

2. A ventriloquists doll comprising a body, arms and legs pivoted uponsaid body, said arms and legs all being formed from lengths of wirematerial having inner end portions disposed within the body and outerend portions projecting exteriorly of the body to define the limbsthereof, the inner end portions of the lengths of wire material beingshaped as control handles adapted to be engaged by the fingers of a handinserted within the body, and means for automatically efiecting jointmovement of the arms including a U-shaped bail connected at its ends tosaid handles constituting the inner ends of said arms and dependingWithin the body with its bight adapted for engagement by the finger of auser, said bail being formed from a single length of wire material andhaving hook-like formations at the free ends of its legs loosely engagedover the respective control handles.

3. A doll including a body, and legs movably connected thereto, saidlegs each including an upper leg member pivotally connectedat its upperend to the body, and a lower leg member pivotally connected to the lowerend of .the upper leg member to provide a knee joint, said knee jointhaving means to limit the lower leg member against forward swingingmovement beyond a position in which it is aligned with the upper legmember, each leg including a tubular member circumposed about the upperleg member thereof and shiftable longitudinally of the associated upperleg member to overlap the pivotal connection between the leg members,thereby to lock the leg members in said position of alignment thereof.

4. A doll including a body, upstanding bearing brackets therein, hingepins carried by the bearing brackets, and a leg pivotally suspended fromeach hinge pin, each leg being formed of a length of wire having aseries of convolutions intermediate its ends receiving the hinge pin,and having a handle extending from one end of the series of convolutionsto permit manipulation of the leg relative to the body, said bearingbracket having a locking recess receiving said length of wire materialon swinging of the handle to a predetermined position, thus to lock theleg against movement relative to the body.

5. A doll including a body, upstanding bearing brackets therein, hingepins carried by the bearing brackets, and a leg pivotall-y suspendedfrom each hinge pin, each leg being formed of a length of wire having aseries of convolutions intermediate its ends receiving the hinge pin,and having a handle extending from one end of the series. ofconvolutions to permit manipulation of the leg relative to the body,said bearing bracket having a locking recess receiving said length ofwire material on swinging of the handle to a predetermined position,thus to lock the leg against movement relative to the body, the brackethaving a curved surface eccentric to the axis defined by the pin, saidlength of wire material being folded on itself intermediate its ends,adjacent the handle thereof, to provide a laterally projecting fingerengageable by said curved surface on swinging of the handle to saidpredetermined position, the locking recess of the bracket being formedat one end of said curved surface to receive said finger.

6. A ventriloquists doll including a body, a head rotatably mountedthereon, means secured to the head extending into the body for rotatingthe head, a mouth piece movably mounted in the head, and mouthpieceoperating means connected to the mouthpiece and movably mounted on thefirst-named means, said first-named means including a length of wirematerial shaped with a loop-like handle within the body, thesecond-named means including a plate hinged upon the handle and a linkconnected between the plate and mouthpiece.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,556,244 Nause Oct. 6, 1925 1,648,411 Lemieux Nov. 8, 1927 1,880,109Sanders Sept. 27, 1932 1,892,278 Kallus Dec. 27, 1932 2,017,023 RendleOct. 8, 1935 2,114,851 McCoWn Apr. 19, 19 38 2,307,523 MaiSel Jan. 5,1943 2,396,654 Hermann Mar. 19, 1946 2,454,899 Twomey Nov. 30, 19482,551,195 Wirth May 1, 1951 2,618,896 Herzog Nov. 25, 1952 2,623,329DiLeva Dec. 30, 1952 2,633,670 Steuber Apr. 7, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS361,935 Germany Oct. 20, 1922

